The Kung-Tsung Wang Bioorganic Chemistry Foundation Lectureship for 2011 has been awarded to Professor George M. Whitesides for his outstanding contributions to the field of chemistry and biochemistry. Professor Whitesides gave 5 lectures at National Taiwan University, National Chiao Tung University and Academia Sinica from Oct 17 to Oct 21. In addition, the Foundation also invited an internationally renowned scientist and executive - Dr. Whaijen Soo, who delivered a special lecture on biotechnology development following Professor Whitesides's lecture on October 19.
Professor George M. Whitesides has worked in an unusually broad range of areas, including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, organometallic chemistry, applied enzymology, self-assembly, soft lithography, microfluidics, organic surface science, and nanotechnology. His current research interests include physical and organic chemistry, materials science, biophysics, complexity and simplicity, tools for biology, technology for developing economies, and the origin of life. His laboratory at Harvard University is noted for its diversity, creativity, and productivity, and for the quality of students it has produced. Professor Whitesides was the Mallinckrodt Professor in Department of Chemistry of Harvard University from 1982-2004 and served as department chairman from 1986 to 1989. He is currently the Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor, which is the highest honor for professors of Harvard.
Professor Whitesides is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Engineering. He is a foreign associate of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Indian Academy of Science, and the French Academy of Science. Professor Whitesides has received many honors, including the U.S. National Medal of Science in 1998, the Kyoto Prize in Materials Science and Engineering in 2003, the Welch Award in Chemistry in 2005, the Dan David Prize in Future Science in 2005, the American Chemical Society Priestley Medal in 2007, the Prince of Asturias Award in Science and Technology in 2008, the Dreyfus Prize in Chemistry in 2009, the Othmer Gold Medal (Chemical Heritage Foundation) in 2010, and the King Feisal Prize in 2011.
Dr. Soo is a global pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceutical research and development executive with over 25 years of management experience with strategic and portfolio planning, as well as execution of new drug research, development, and product registrations in the US, Europe, and the rest of world. He has successively held influential positions in international pharmaceutical companies, including Vice President and Head of Clinical Science at Roche; Senior Vice President of Medical Research at Biogen Idec, Senior Vice President and Head of Research and Development at Shire Human Genetic Therapies. Dr. Soo is currently a management consultant to several biotech start-up companies.
The Kung-Tsung Wang Bioorganic Chemistry Foundation awards lectureship to one world-renowned scholar in academia each year, and starting 2008, another lectureship has been awarded to an outstanding scientist from industry. The Foundation was established eleven years ago by a group of Taiwanese scientists, including Academia Sinica President Emeritus Yuan-Tseh Lee and President Chi-Huey Wong in order to honor Dr. Kung-Tsung Wang, a pioneer in the field of bioorganic chemistry and also an Academician of Academia Sinica. At present Academia Sinica Distinguished Research Fellow Andrew H.-J. Wang serves as the president of the Foundation. Dr. Kung-Tsung Wang passed away on December 19, 2010.
